This is the third year in a row I've presented this topic to 5th graders at the Adams 12 STEM Magnet school in Northglenn, CO. These kids sat through a 30 minute presentation, and then they had 30 minutes of Q&A. The teachers at this school are outstanding, and they are teaching these young minds not only science, technology, engineering and math...but also the importance of communicating their ideas. Sorry for the video quality. It settles down when I'm not moving; however, I had to balance file size with quality..and the audio is more important than seeing me!

1. Mantis Technology Group
focus on delivery
Adams 12 STEM Magnet School – Art of Presenting
Presented by Mantis – Brian Vickery – EVP/GM Rocky Mountain Region
© 2012 Mantis Technology Group Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

2. agenda
 Introductions
 Purpose of Presentation
 Demonstration (if applicable)
 Questions & Answers
 Leave information for follow-up Q & A
© 2012 Mantis Technology Group Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

3. introductions
 Brian Vickery – Executive Vice President and chief bottle
washer of Rocky Mountain region
 Education: Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering
- University of Texas at Austin
 Experience: Software Development, Project
Management, Account Management, Social Media Blogger
and Executive
 Hobbies: I love to teach and coach
Who are you??
© 2012 Mantis Technology Group Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

4. purpose of presentation
Blahblahblahblahblahblahimportant
pointblahblahblahblahprobably really want to
make sure they see this oneblahblahblahpoint of
earth-shaking significancesblahblahgreatest thing
since sliced breadblahblahblahblahblahblah
blahblahblah blahblahblahif I don’t get this point
across I’ll probably be firedblahblahblahblahblah
blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah
© 2012 Mantis Technology Group Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

5. purpose of presentation
 Use 3-4 Bullet Points to get your point across
 Consider indented bullets to add more detail supporting your major
points.
 NOTE: Limit the indented detail to 2-4 supporting points
 Use a font size and type that is easy to read…even if using
this font (or this font) seems like a really cool idea
 Use “white space” and color to emphasize critical points
This is the really important message I want to convey on
this slide!
© 2012 Mantis Technology Group Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

6. purpose of presentation
 Cool animations are really fun
 And products today give us so many dizzying
options
 Consider your audience before going overboard
with animation
 Sometimes the principle: “Keep it Simple” is the
best approach
© 2012 Mantis Technology Group Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

7. purpose of presentation
 Be interactive and energetic
 Be a story-teller not just a lecturer
 Make eye contact and speak clearly (enunciate)
 Use anecdotes, examples and statistics without going
overboard
 A is worth a thousand words
© 2012 Mantis Technology Group Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

8. purpose of presentation
 Understand the “Power of a question”
 Keeps the audience engaged
 You let the audience know that their opinion matters
 Provides more insight into the audience
 Try not to ask a question that has a simple “yes or no” answer
 Dress the Part!
© 2012 Mantis Technology Group Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

9. purpose of presentation
 Understand what makes your audience “tick”
 Do people “run away from german shepherds”
 Many people make decisions out of fear
or because they want to avoid pain
 Communicate with these people using
alarming statistics or how your solution
will ease their pain
 Do people “run towards gold medals”
 Some people strive for goals or rewards
 Communicate with these people showing
how much money they will make, or
nature scenes showing benefits to the
environment.
© 2012 Mantis Technology Group Inc. Proprietary and Confidential

10. demonstration
•User friendly column names
•Logical groups based upon user thought process
•Dynamic aggregation (count, sum, min, max, avg)
•Pre-build common conditions/filters
•Hierarchies support drilldowns at report level
•Pre-work here enriches user experience downstream

11. questions
Questions?

12. questions
 For further information contact Brian Vickery
 EVP/GM Rocky Mountain Region
 brian.vickery@mantis-tgi.com
 http://www.linkedin.com/in/brianvickery
 http://brianvickery.com